Scotts Valley
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From its early years as a stop on the California Trail stage route across the mountains from San Jose to Santa Cruz. The Scotts Valley area has provided services to travelers. With the growing popularity of the automobile in the early 20th century, the area became commercialized and tourism developed as a local industry.
In the early 1920s, Edward Evers established Camp Evers at the junction of the State Highway and Mt. Hermon Road. Camp Evers consisted of a small store, gas pumps, dance hall and tents, becoming a resort and rest stop for travelers.
The Beverly Gardens were established in the 1930s and featured a collection of exotic birds and animals, a restaurant, and cabins.
The Tree Circus was opened in 1947, featuring trees grafted and trained in strange and unusual shapes. Bright "life size" painted dinosaurs overlooking Highway 17 were added to the Tree Circus in 1964 when it changed its name to The Lost World.
Santa's Village was established in 1956. It was the most popular of the many attractions, attracting millions of visitors to Scotts Valley for over twenty years, and it was the last of Scotts Valley's theme parks to close its doors in 1978.
On June 13 1956, legal documents were drawn up for the sale of Lawridge Farm, which was a portion of the former Rancho San Augustin. From the Lawridge Farm estate came the leasing of the 25 acres which housed Santa's Village theme park, one of three locations in America's first theme park chain. The lease was to H. Glenn Holland, who had already developed a Santa's Village in 1955. The park maintained a historically correct team of Mexican burros who lived on the back 20 acre field. Four reindeer from Unalakleet, Alaska, pulled Santa's sleigh. All the buildings were designed to look like log chalet-type structures, replete with snowy roofs and gingerbread trim. One chalet housed a legendary fresh gingerbread bakery that filled the town of Scotts Valley with the smell of gingerbread during the Summer months. Theme-appropriate music flowed from speakers hidden in towering redwood trees. The pristinely clean Santa's Village of Scotts Valley was an inviting theme park for all. In 1977 the Santa's Village Corporation had filed for bankruptcy, and in 1979 the park's gates were finally closed. The site is currently a playing field at the headquarters of Borland Software
Scotts Valley is also near Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Boulder Creek, Ca (map), Henry Cowell State Park, Ca (map), and Roaring Camp Railroads, Ca (map). The town is surrounded by redwood forests. The city of Santa Cruz, Ca (map) lies to the south.
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